body was composed of many parts or organs, each one of
which had its own especial work to do. If any one organ could not
perform its work, some other one would have to assist it, but, although
the organs are willing to help each other, it would not be fair to make
one do more than its share of work, except for a short time.
You remember, the stomach had a great deal of work to do in digesting
the food or preparing it so it could be taken up by the blood and carried
to the womb and all parts of the body. But the stomach does not have to
do this all alone. It has several helpers. One set of helpers is the teeth,
which cut and grind the food into small particles. In order to do this,
they must be kept in very good condition; otherwise, they could not do
their work. You know if your mother would let the kitchen knives get
dull or rusty, she would be unable to cut the bread, meat and other food
materials with them. The same is true of the teeth. We can keep them in
good condition by brushing them. It is as important to do this as to
wash the dishes. Then, too, we must be careful not to break the teeth by
biting nuts and other hard things. Nothing so detracts from a girl's
appearance and nothing is more conducive to indigestion than poorly
cared for teeth. They should be brushed at least twice daily and the
mouth afterwards rinsed with a mild antiseptic solution. The teeth
should be thoroughly examined by a good dentist at least every six
months.
Another assistant that the stomach has is the intestines or bowels,
which not only help to digest the food but also carry off the waste
material. The bowels are very good, and will tell us when they have
waste material to be disposed of, but sometimes people are too busy
and do not pay attention. If we neglect them many times the bowels get
tired of telling us, and then their work is not done. We think they are
lazy and so we try to whip them up by taking a laxative. This seems to
help at first, but we soon find we have to do the same thing every day.
All this time the fault was our own, for we did not understand. The best
way is to have a regular time of going to the toilet, say, right after
breakfast. If we always go at the same time the bowels will remember it.
Then we need have no trouble with constipation nor take any horrid
medicine to whip the bowels. A regular daily action of the bowels is
necessary to health. Constipation often may be relieved by drinking a
glass of cold water upon rising, at intervals during the day, and upon
retiring. Fruit at breakfast or figs taken after meals often will relieve a
tendency to constipation. Regularity in going to the toilet is one of the
most important measures in treating constipation. Laxatives or
cathartics should not be taken except for an occasional dose or during
illness, upon the advice of a physician. So common is the practice of
taking daily laxatives that it has become a "national curse." People do
not realize that they are slaves to this habit. So cleverly worded are the
advertisements of many of the laxatives that people are led to believe
that if they drink certain "waters" or "teas" they are avoiding medicine,
while often these same teas and waters contain drugs more powerful
and harmful than any pill.
The bowels have some one to assist them, too, for the kidneys carry off
much of the waste material of the body. Indeed, they carry off so much
that they sometimes are called the sewers. It often is necessary to flush
the sewers of the city, that is, to send quantities of water through them
to clean the system. In the same way it is necessary to flush the kidneys.
We do this by drinking plenty of water. Every one should drink about
two quarts of water a day.
There is another worker that helps both the kidneys and the bowels.
This is the skin, which sends off waste material through the tiny pores
or openings. If dirt accumulates on the skin, it clogs the pores so the
skin cannot use them. So you see how necessary it is to take frequent
baths to keep the pores open.
Other helpers that carry some of the waste material from the body are
the lungs, which send out the impure air. The lungs also take in the
pure air, which, you remember, helps to make the red coloring matter in
the
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